


Jealousy Is...

by deltachye



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, One Shot Collection, Other, Reader-Insert, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Teacher Sugawara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21611665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deltachye/pseuds/deltachye
Summary: [reader x various hq one-shots]No doubt about it—he’s cute when he’s jealous.
Relationships: Kita Shinsuke/Reader, Reader/Various, Sakusa Kiyoomi/Reader, Shirabu Kenjirou/Reader, Sugawara Koushi/Reader, Tsukishima Kei/Reader, Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader
Comments: 28
Kudos: 1063





	1. [ WAKATOSHI USHIJIMA — Jealousy's a Missed Serve ]

**Author's Note:**

> hq s4 to the top... i've waited 4 years for you.... I'M STILL SO IN LOVE W ALL THE CHARACTERS.

“Oi, oi, Wakatoshi… isn’t that guy getting awful close to [Name]?”

The diligent captain looked up and turned to where Tendou was pointing with his taped finger. She sat on the lower bleachers, smiling and nodding as one of the college players that were here for the practice matches talked to her. Ushijima cocked his head—they were too far away to hear anything, but from what it looked like, it was a spiritedly animated conversation. [Name] laughed and leant back, her hair swinging as she did.

“I see,” he replied dully.

“ _Do_ you see?” Tendou probed, clearly unhappy with the lack of reaction. “Like. He’s getting really chatty with her.”

Tendou grabbed the back of Ushijima’s head and forced him down into an awkward half-huddle so they could spy on the two. Ushijima wasn’t sure how this was anymore inconspicuous than just looking over normally, but he went with it anyways. The guy sitting next to [Name] wasn’t any much taller or bigger than him, he thought. Though he looked giant next to her. He wasn’t actually sure how much older these people were than him. They could be in their twenties. The surge of annoyance finally hit him—what was a college student doing talking to a girl in high school?

“So are you gonna give him a piece of your mind or _what_!?” Tendou whispered gleefully, his face lighting up when he recognized Ushijima’s expression.

“What are you two doing?”

Leon’s exasperated voice floated over. The two straightened up sharply, feeling like they’d been caught in a bad act. Leon looked to Tendou, then Ushijima, then over to [Name] and the nameless boy. His thick eyebrows rose in understanding.

“Satori, are you stirring up drama for no reason again…?”

“How rude! It’s not for no reason if somebody’s trying to make moves on Waka’s girl! I’m looking out for him, like a _true_ friend.”

“You just want to see him get into a fight,” Leon rebutted bluntly. Tendou stiffened and his expression melted into a sleazy grin.

“Well, wouldn’t that be interesting? In a hypothetical sense.”

“Don’t worry,” Ushijima interrupted, having been forgotten during the back-and-forth. “I’m not going to cause any trouble.”

“Whoa—Wakatoshi?! …man, he actually went over there to talk to them.” Leon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He whacked Tendou in between the shoulder blades. “If they end up in a brawl, I’m making sure you get detention too.”

“What the hell!? What for? You damn goody-two-shoes.”

Ushijima walked over to the bleachers calmly, sticking close to the sidelines so he wouldn’t get nailed by accident in any of the ongoing matches. These college teams were admittedly stronger than most people he’d faced before, even on the nationals’ high school level. He wouldn’t want to take anybody’s spike to the face because he wasn’t paying attention. Besides, [Name]’d complain about it and worry over him. As much as he’d like her attention, it wouldn’t be fair to her.

“Hello,” he greeted formally, stepping forwards between the two. [Name] looked up, surprised to see him.

“Toshi? You’re on a break?”

“Yes. We won the set.” He cleared his throat for emphasis and slid his polished gold eyes over to the other male. Looking more closely, this guy wasn’t bad looking, but he didn’t have anything going for him besides a volleyball player’s physique. “Who’s this?”

“Ah, this is Natsukawa-kun. He’s a first year Sendai University student that graduated from Shiratorizawa.” She introduced him fretfully, and the annoyance flushed stronger through his veins. Why was she introducing him _for_ him? Didn’t he have his own voice?

“Natsukawa Takashi, at your service. You’re the infamous Ushiwaka kid, eh? Would be crazy to play you.” Natsukawa brushed his taped fingers through his curly dark hair, grinning wide with amazingly straight teeth. He put the other hand out for a handshake. Ushijima pretended not to notice and looked back to [Name].

“How are you?” he asked, his voice a touch louder than it needed to be.

“Fine. Oh, did you need water or Gatorade? I can go get your—”

“I’m okay,” he interrupted. “I just wanted to check on my _girlfriend_. That’s all.”

“…okay?” [Name] smiled, though it was suspicious—she knew him too well to buy into this. It wasn’t as if it was out of character for him to care enough to go check up on her, but even he could tell his actions were weirdly stiff, even for him.

“Aw, you guys are cute. I remember my youth.” Natsukawa stood up abruptly, clapping his hands on his thighs. With a sinking feeling, Ushijima realized he _was_ actually shorter, by an inch or two. Damn it. He was jolted out of his newfound irritation by a clap on the shoulder—Natsukawa. He stepped back quickly, hating when strangers would touch him so carefree like that.

“Looks like my dreams are coming true!” Natsukawa sung cheerily, ignoring the way Ushijima glared at him. “We’re playing the next set over there, Toshi.”

 _Don’t call me by her nickname_ , he thought heatedly, but he was so paralyzed by the sudden ambush of emotions that he all he could manage was to stare blankly. [Name] sensed the tension and stood, hands up as if it might dispel some of the hostility starting to brew in the air.

“Uh—”

“Hey, [Name]-chan?” He interjected before she could say anything. Natsukawa turned his back as if Ushijima wasn’t even there, having the audacity to smile flirtatiously at her. “You’ll watch me, right? Toshi might be your boyfriend, but it doesn’t mean I can’t try for a cute girl’s attention too.” With a laugh, he jogged off to the far court. [Name] winced and immediately turned to look at Ushijima, her clear eyes attempting to gauge his expression. He was too distracted to even focus on her, his hands trembling at his sides.

“I’m going to go now,” he blurted out, turning around and storming off to follow.

“Wakatoshi—ah, and he’s gone. Uh oh.”

Natsukawa and the rest of his team were pitted against him and some other regulars. Ushijima didn’t even bother to count heads or check who was on his team. He was too agitated to care. Somebody bounced the ball to him and he caught it with instinct alone.

“Ushijima-san, it’s your serve.”

He clenched the worn-out ball with both hands, feeling the leathery skin dip beneath the strength of his fingertips. With heavy footsteps, he marched to the back line. Tendou and Leon watched him from the front row.

“See what you did?” Leon muttered under his breath. He reached up to cover the back of his head, something he didn’t often do. Tendou stuck out his tongue between his teeth.

“Jealousy is the spice of life. Don’t tell me you’re not interested?”

Ushijima bounced the ball onto the floor—once, twice, thrice. It felt good in his hands. This ball had a good heft. With both hands, he held it at his waist and glanced up when the whistle blew. His eyes quickly scanned the opposing team’s floor space through the net. Natsukawa was a wing spiker too—of course he was, the bastard. They made eye contact for a split-second, and Ushijima saw his opponent’s shoulders tense as he lowered himself to a deeper dig. He almost wanted to grin. _That’s right. Be scared of me._

He threw the ball up, like he had a million times before, and pulled his arms back for the run up. His jump was high and powerful. He felt it grounded in his toes. Hitting the ball with all the might he had, he heard it before he saw it—the slam on the ground, and then the ball sailing up in the air. It hit the rafters with a distant _bonk_ , wavered in suspension, and then quickly descended.

“ _Wakatoshi!_ ” the familiar screech of Coach Washijo echoed, filling in the stunned silence like sand rushed into a gaping hole. “What good is a serve if you can’t even make it in the lines, idiot!?”

“Holy _fuck_ ,” Natsukawa whistled, straightening up with wide eyes. “That would’ve blown my arms off, bro.”

“…my bad,” Ushijima called over, his lie so obvious that even Goshiki cringed at him.

“Told you,” Tendou snickered to Leon, prodding him in the ribs with an elbow. “This is amusing, is it not?”

“You’re a weird kind of sadist, Satori.”

At the end of practice, Natsukawa’s team had won the set against them. It couldn’t be helped; their team had bigger spikers, bigger blockers, and better receivers. Nothing outmatches experience. If it was possible to drink water angrily, Ushijima did just that, gulping down water faster than he could breathe. Damn it. [Name] saw him lose, and now her name was in that filthy mouth of that stupid—

“Yo.”

Gasping for breath, he lowered his water bottle and looked down to her. She extended a towel. For a second he was too surprised to move, but quickly regained his senses and took it from her gingerly.

“Thanks.”

“Ushijima Wakatoshi!” she chastised immediately after he took the cloth, her voice dripping with disappointment. He couldn’t help but cringe away from her despite being so much bigger. “Are you _jealous_ or something?”

“…no,” he muttered guiltily, and once again, the lie was so bad that he shouldn’t have even bothered. She smacked him on the arm. It didn’t sting, but he recoiled anyways, startled by the move.

“You cost us the set because you were too busy showing off! What was with those flashy, sucky ass moves? You’re Shiratorizawa’s Ace, aren’t you?”

“Um,” he replied dumbly with wide eyes, unable to come up with a proper response. She continued on for him, full of hot words and spite for his lack of them.

“But you embarrassed yourself out there! I mean, come on. We both know you’re better than that. Since when did you let your emotions screw up your playing?”

Now that she was lecturing him, it started to set in just how poorly he’d performed. Had he even made a single serve in? Most of his crosses went right into the net, and his straights veered so far out of bounds it was almost like he was _trying_ to miss. He grimaced. She was right—he had embarrassed himself and his team. She slowed down when she saw his expression. Again, her hand reached out to his arm, but she patted his bicep gently instead. The warmth was comforting from her soft, small palm.

“That being said, it was kind of cute. Seeing you get all fired up for me. Did Natsukawa-kun bother you that much?”

The heat on his face couldn’t be attributed to exercise anymore, and he looked away.

“...no.”

“Right,” she replied skeptically. He snuck a peek at her face and his eyes caught on her smile. The wind was knocked right out of his chest. With the hand on him she grabbed his sleeve and yanked, forcing him to bend down. She kissed him, missing just a bit when her lips brushed his nose.

“Does that make you feel better, you big baby?” she asked wryly, her dark eyelashes fluttering like wings as she pulled away. He blinked and unconsciously glanced up and away from her—a split second later he realized he was looking for Natsukawa, hoping it might rub some salt in a wound. He ignored his instincts and turned his attention back to [Name]. Natsukawa didn’t matter anymore. Nobody did but her.

“Another one might,” he replied earnestly. [Name] bit down a smile and rolled her eyes.

“Toshi, you’re so annoying.”

“Am I?” Hurt, he frowned.

“The fact that you’re not even sarcastic about it… ugh. You’re cute. You’re sickeningly cute.” Another half-hearted smack on the arm. Then she picked up the navy blue duffel bag she’d set down by her feet and gave him a mischievous tongue-in-cheek smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t have eyes for anybody else. See you later, boyfriend.”

“Oh. Yeah. See you later.”

He’d get that second kiss later, but he already felt a lot better.


	2. [ KEI TSUKISHIMA — Jealousy's a Foul Mouth ]

It’s a normal school day. People chatted around [Name] during the 15 minute morning break, her head bent down. The friends she would usually talk to in class had gone down to the cafeteria to grab a snack, so she’d gone on her phone, scrolling through feeds and catching up on texts. She was so distracted that she hardly noticed when somebody in her peripheral spun the empty chair in front of her around, plopping down in it.

“[Surname]-chan?” the person prompted when she still didn’t look up.

“Gimme a second,” she mumbled, eyes narrowing in concentration. Her tongue’s stuck out. She swiped up on her phone and then cried out in what sounded like pure agony, wrenching her hair out.

“What happened?” the boy asked, bewildered.

“I lost at cup pong… _again_! He’s never going to shut up about it. Ugh… I was so close.” She clicked her phone off and placed it face down on the desk, sighing. “Anyways. What’s up, Naoe-kun?”

Naoe smiled wryly, placing his head down on his crossed arms. “You see. I’m kinda struggling with math now. Ever since I made it as a regular on the soccer team, I haven’t had enough time to study. I still want to stay in the college prep stream, so can I ask you to help me out?”

“You’re a regular, huh?” she mused. She was thinking of somebody else, but it was a trap set up by Naoe, and he beamed while raising his head.

“I’m like, one of the only first year starters. Pretty neat, right?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, once again, thinking of somebody else. Naoe didn’t notice and flashed another smile, pearly and white.

“So, can I ask you for some tutoring? Pretty please? You’re one of the smartest girls here.”

“Aw, I’m not that special or anything. But sure, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Great!” he chirped. “Lunch today?”

“Works for me,” she replied, smiling back. He got up to go back to his seat, so she flipped her phone around to shoot off a quick text.

 **You:** helping a friend with math at lunch. u and tadashi eat without me  
 **Kei:** K  
 **You:** love you :)  
 **Kei:** Even though I destroyed you at cup pong?  
 **You:** >:(

“Tsukki, I’ve got an extra—wait, where’s [Name]?”

The green haired boy cocked his head as Tsukishima opened up his lunch box, headphones around his neck. 

“She’s helping a friend with something today.”

“Like… a female friend? Or?”

Tsukishima’s brow twitched. He glanced up as Yamaguchi brought a hand up to his chin thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, [Name] always eats lunch with us. I guess with you. So aren’t you curious?”

“She’s allowed to have other friends, you know. We don’t spend every waking second together.”

“But we just got back from summer camp and you haven’t seen her for a week!” Yamaguchi complained, sounding like he’s more invested in the relationship than Tsukishima is. “I mean, I just I guess… don’t you want to… well… but…”

“Will you shut up if I go over there and say hello?” Tsukishima snapped irritably. 

Yamaguchi beamed. “It’s a deal.”

The two got up and made the short trip across the hallway. 1-5 and 1-4 were, obviously, close in relation to each other. Tsukishima poked his head through the open door and easily spotted the back of her head. 

“It’s a boy!” Yamaguchi gasped scandalously from below him. 

“Oh, yeah? Thank you. I can see that because I have eyes,” Tsukishima replied sarcastically. It was indeed a boy, a tall guy with short brown hair. [Name] was looking down at something on the desk between them. He was too far to hear what they were talking about, but judging from the textbook open between them, it was probably something about school. [Name] was a very successful academic and even helped Yamaguchi out a lot, especially when Tsukishima was too annoyed with him to lend a hand. Even though [Name] was diligently writing something out on the paper, the guy wasn’t focused at all. Tsukishima could see his face clearly, and all he saw was this kid smiling at _her_ , staring at her face, practically _drooling_.

“Dude!” Yamaguchi continued in the same hushed tone, grabbing the back of Tsukishima’s sweater and yanking him back out into the hallway. “That’s Naoe Toramatsu.”

“Do I care?” 

“Yes, you care! My friends on the soccer team complain about him all the time. He’s known for hitting on girls and being a total sleaze.”

Tsukishima would like to say that he still didn’t care, and all was dandy, but frankly he felt a grittiness settle in his gut. It wasn’t like he cared that much about who his girlfriend was talking to and why, but just the sound of this name unsettled him. 

“What are you going to do?” Yamaguchi asked fretfully.

“Nothing,” he replied succinctly. Yamaguchi’s teary expression irked him, so he added on hotly, “it’s not a problem yet, so what good is it going to do if I barge in there? What do you want me to say?”

“I guess,” Yamaguchi muttered unsurely. For now, the best Tsukishima could do was let it go and trust her.

The next day, however, he was surprised to get another morning text from [Name]. 

**[Name]** : working on hw with a friend for lunch again. sorry!

For some reason he felt compelled to relay the message to Yamaguchi, who immediately acted like he’d been stabbed.

“It’s Naoe! That jerk, hitting on taken girls…!”

“I’m just going to go in there and say hello,” Tsukishima muttered, getting to his feet. “ _You_ stay outside.”

“Oh… okay.”

The two walked back over to 1-5. His confidence wavered a bit, but it’d be lame of him to chicken out over something like this, so he walked into the classroom. [Name] and this Naoe guy were sitting in the same spot at her desk. As Tsukishima walked closer, he caught what Naoe was saying.

“Your sweater doesn’t even fit, [Name]-chan… you’d be cuter if it wasn’t hiding what you look like.” He reached over, pulling on the sleeve.

A first name basis— _and_ this bastard was playing with her clothes?! It’d taken her months to even get past calling _him_ Tsukishima. Freezing in his steps, he stayed far enough back not to be noticed, but close enough to eavesdrop.

“Oh, yeah. It’s my boyfriend’s.”

“Eh…? He must be huge.” Naoe let go of the sleeve and Tsukishima’s heart softened. Turning around, he quickly retreated before [Name] could spot him.

“What happened?” Yamaguchi asked frantically as he hastily slipped out into the hallway. “Why didn’t you go up to them!?”

“I didn’t need to worry,” he replied simply. Yamaguchi clearly had another response planned, but after looking at his friend’s expression, he shut up and shrugged.

“If you say so, Tsukki.”

It was the third day in a row when he finally was _pissed_.

 **[Name]** : sorry, friend still needs help.. meet after school instead??

That was the last straw. Now this idiot was just taking advantage of her. He wasn’t proud of it, but he was channeling Tanaka and Nishinoya’s energy, feeling the grittiness burn holes in his stomach. At lunch he didn’t even bother consulting with Yamaguchi—he just got up and dutifully marched across the hallway into the classroom.

“[Name],” he interrupted, inserting himself into the conversation while Naoe was talking. They both looked up, surprised to see him looming over them.

“Oh, Kei? Hey, what’re you doing here? Where’s Tadashi?” She scanned around for his usual companion, but he waved her off, turning his attention to Naoe.

“Who’s this?”

“Hey, bro.” He leant back onto two chair legs like a douchebag. “I’m Naoe—”

“I’m asking [Name], not you,” he replied bluntly. Naoe faltered, clearly not expecting so much hostility. 

“Uh… Toramatsu-kun’s the guy I’ve been helping out,” [Name] said brightly, trying to fill in the cool chasm that had suddenly opened up.

“He’s obviously flirting with you,” Tsukishima continued in the same flat tone, adjusting his glasses. Naoe squirmed in his chair, uncomfortable with being stared at.

“Kei!” she reprimanded hastily. “It’s fine! We’re just studying together, that’s all.”

“Jeez, [Name],” Naoe muttered, seeming to have mustered enough courage to speak again. “You’ve got such a tight-ass boyfriend.”

[Name] whipped her head to look at him, and Tsukishima was startled to see such an angry expression on her face. She hardly ever looked this upset.

“Hey. Don’t say that about Kei ever again.”

The glee floated Tsukishima’s heart up to the roof. He was right all along. He didn’t have anything to worry about here. Naoe just frowned, his dark eyes sliding from her to him. He raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Sheesh. I’m just saying, if you get sick of him, you can always come to me. Pretty girls like you deserve better.”

Never mind. Something snapped inside Tsukishima and he lost his cool, opening his mouth before he could even think about what he was saying.

“What, go to a loser like you? Well you can kindly fuck off, _Toramatsu-kun_.”

“Kei—” [Name] gasped, eyes wide. Naoe got up, the chair screeching back with force. His face burned red.

“Yo, what the fuck did you say to me?” He reached out and grabbed Tsukishima’s collar, but he was so much shorter than him that Tsukishima didn’t feel anything besides a gleeful, gloating bubble.

“I _said_ , loser, you can—”

“Boys!”

The trio turned to the shrill adult voice. Tsukishima’s anger was extinguished like a wimpy blown-out candle when he looked down at the cross-armed woman, her thin eyebrow raised. The hand disappeared from his shirt as Naoe stumbled back.

“What class are you in?” she asked sternly, addressing Tsukishima.

“…1-4,” he muttered sheepishly.

“I’ll be letting Sanada-sensei know about what kind of foul language you’re using in school. And you, Naoe-kun? Detention.”

“…yes, Hiroe-sensei…”

Not to say that getting detention was worth it or anything… but the way [Name] wearily looked up at him, and the way Naoe scurried off with a tail between his legs…? 

Yeah. Detention was worth it.

“It’s just weird to even think about _you_ getting detention, you know? I mean, I didn’t even think you were the jealous type.”

[Name] collected her books, having been waiting in the library for him to be out of detention so that they could walk home together. Tsukishima felt the grittiness grind in his gut again.

“Couldn’t you tell he was hitting on you? Yamaguchi and I saw it ourselves. He was just staring at your chest.”

“I was just trying to be nice!” she retorted peevishly. “It’s not like I’m going to be suspicious of every person that asks me for help.”

“That’s your problem. You’re too nice.”

“Right, yeah. Only you would say that it’s a problem to be ‘too nice’.” She sighed, but an amused expression warmed her face. He grabbed her bag before she could reach for it and slung it over his other shoulder. She blinked and then smiled up at him.

“I mean, you’ve got a potty mouth. But you’re nice too, Kei.”

“…shut up.”

“And there he is!” she exclaimed while standing up and pushing her chair back in. “You say one nice thing and then act like you’re mean so you don’t embarrass yourself. You’re so predictable, Kei. But it’s kinda cute, you know?”

Silent, he stewed in his own awkwardness, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt. She smirked and raised herself up on tippy-toes, tucking a finger into his shirt collar and forcing him to bend down. The kiss was short, but sweet. He couldn’t help but pull a Naoe and stare at her stupidly.

“I kind of like this side of you,” she continued, starting to walk. “I mean, you shouldn’t cuss in front of the teacher again. But it’s kind of hot, you getting all bothered for once. Maybe I’ll go screw around with other guys more often—”

“Don’t,” he said sharply, stopping and grabbing her arm. “You’re mine.”

He’d fallen for her clearly set up trap and she grinned widely, eyes shining brightly. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Gotcha!” She laughed to herself and then smiled, a more subdued one, eyes gleaming. “Love you, Kei.”

Lowering his voice so nobody else would hear, he begrudgingly muttered,

“Love you too.”


	3. [ KIYOOMI SAKUSA — Jealousy's an Eaten Note ]

Sakusa Kiyoomi is a tall, germophobic introvert with a penchant for starting fights that never need to be started. [Surname] [Name] is a relatively quiet, nice, easy-going girl, and she is also the person dating Sakusa Kiyoomi.

It’s high school and everybody is jet-setted with hormones, eager to suck face and fall in _love_. How gross is that? Kissing disease literally _kills_ , and let’s not even start on sexually transmitted infections, but it’s not like he cares what other people want to do with their lives if they keep it far enough away from him.

Komori’s insufferable about it, though. Every day, ever since their first year, he’s been whining about how he doesn’t have a girlfriend and that his ‘virile youth’ is being wasted. _Disgusting_. It’s really no wonder he’s got nobody to share that virile youth with. Sakusa never shared the sentiment until he met her.

He had met [Name] in first year, though he sure as hell never talked to her for most of that time. They’d been in the same home room, him seated behind her. But he barely talked to anybody, let alone girls. They might have never spoken to each other at all if she hadn’t turned around one day and offered him a gloop of hand sanitizer. It was a novelty one with cutesy packaging, its overly sweet smell marketed for kids, and wasn’t very well suited for teenagers in high school.

“Sorry if that’s weird,” she apologized matter-of-factly when he stared at her blankly, “I’m just trying to finish the bottle.”

He fell in love with her instantly.

It wasn’t like he expected her to like him _back_. It was a borderline stalker relationship where suddenly he knew every single one of her classes, favourite songs, movies, books, foods, and the vice versa dislikes, too. 

(He was a very good listener, okay.) 

Komori, being the annoying prick that he always was, picked up on his sudden interest and pestered Sakusa about it relentlessly. It ranged from eyebrow wriggling to straight up calling [Name] over for lunch and then magically disappearing somehow, ditching the two of them together. Finally, he dropped the line of _“if you don’t make a move, I’m making it for you,”_ and Sakusa would’ve rather died a fiery hellish death broadcasted to millions than have that happen.

To be fair, he _was_ going to talk to her. He even had a plan to ask her a normal people question, like “the weather, huh?”. He didn’t know what he’d say after that. His plan was to nod and then run away, but it was something more than just wistful staring, at least.

But, being something like 6’3” and growing, he was very used to seeing things he didn’t need to see. Standing around in crowds was awful, but he hardly ever lost his way, always having the vantage point. Accidentally peeking over dividers. Accidentally making eye contact he never wanted to make. Stuff like that. This time, as he was walking up to [Name]’s desk, he somehow managed to look down at her phone and see the screen perfectly.

**MIZUSHITA YAMATO: Meet at the usual place tonight?**

He walked past her so quickly she probably noticed something was weird, but he had to hide his reddening face.

Yamato—that’s a dude’s name. She’s meeting dudes at usual places in the night. Oh my god. What? Who? Where? Why? How?

Whatever. _Abort mission._

But his hyper-fixation was do-all end-all, and he ended up over-obsessing over this Yamato Mizushita guy, anyways. Who was he? How come he’d never heard the name before? Mizushita wasn’t on any of the first-year lists. So was he an upperclassman? What if some third year was strong-arming [Name] into unsavoury business? Should he rescue her? How would he even do that? What if he went to another school? What the hell was he going to do then?

“Hey, so guess what I found out?”

Komori brought Sakusa back to Earth with his voice, looking rightfully confused when Sakusa turned around grimacing, the volleyball in his hands slowly being strangled by an oddly tight grip.

“Geez, you need to use the washroom or anything?”

“I’m fine,” Sakusa muttered hoarsely. “What is it?”

“Uh, right. That Mizushita Yamato guy? He’s the Club President of the school’s Volunteering Committee. So he’s a third year. And [Name]-chan’s in that club. So see? No problem! You still have a—”

“I never had a chance,” Sakusa moped bitterly. “It’s over.”

“Dude, you’re such a downer. At least get like, fired up or something. Have you ever said hello to her?”

“Once I nodded at her in the hallway. That was it.”

Komori’s lengthy silence spoke wonders.

In the end, that bastard should’ve kept his mouth _shut_ , but misfortune smiled upon Sakusa like no other. During a lunch period, Komori appeared in the first year’s wing, towing along a shorter but older looking boy behind him. His eyes gleamed with delight.

“Kiyoomi-kun! Meet Mizushita-senpai.”

“Oh God,” was all Sakusa could wrangle out of his throat. Mizushita shook Komori off of him and looked over Sakusa warily, obviously not happy with being dragged around by weird first years.

“Can I help you?” he asked. “Komori said you had a question.”

“No,” Sakusa replied stately, “I’m good. Thanks—”

“Are you interested in a [Surname] [Name]?” Koromi interrupted, his tone far more salacious than anybody would’ve enjoyed.

Damn you.

“Uh… no? Hold up. Is that what this is about?” Mizushita laughed, looking relieved. He clapped Sakusa on the shoulder, giving him a mental breakdown. _Where have your hands been, you filthy homewrecker—!_

“I’m gay. I like men. So, uh, this [Name]? Sounds like a girl. All yours, buddy. Good luck.”

Oh. Okay. Maybe fortune was turning the tides after all.

So, the next day was _the_ day, the _for real_ day. He went to class, sat in his spot behind her, and wrote a note. Nothing weirdly crazy, like _hi, I’ve been in love with you for the past month, please marry me_. Just a simple hello. The teacher was strict as hell and hated any talking during class, but maybe this way he could hint that he was interested without having to actually speak and allow his body’s physiology to inevitably ruin his chances.

He prodded her in the back with the back of his eraser. His heart was pounding. He never felt this nervous, not even in games. Dutifully, [Name] turned around, her hair sweeping in a fluid motion that distracted him for so long he almost forgot to pass over the folded note. Clearly, he’d sat there gaping at her for too long, and the teacher’s hawk-like vision suddenly zeroed in on him.

“Sakusa-kun? What’s that you have there?”

Uh. Panic. _Panic—_

_—why did he stuff it into his mouth and eat it?! This is the worst possible outcome!_

“Nothing, Sir,” he muttered flatly past the dry taste of paper and graphite, averting any and all eye contact with [Name]. He could still see her in his peripheral. She pressed her lips together in a poor attempt to hide a laugh. Great; it was time to die, alone and upset and ugly—

“Sakusa-kun, you’re pretty cute.” She whispered it under her breath with a subtle wink before turning around as the teacher harrumphed, returning to the lesson.

“ _Kiyoomi, wait!_ I’ve brought your lucky tissues!”

[Name] staggered up to him, red faced and panting, probably from running a marathon back and forth through the gigantic Tokyo stadium. She clutched the miniature yellow packet in her hands, holding it out for him as she doubled over to catch her breath. He took it from her carefully.

“[Name], you didn’t have to go all the way to get it…”

“I… wanted… to. God, there’s so many stairs.” She sucked in a deep breath, fanning her face as she straightened up. “But it’s your lucky charm. And like, I was the one who gave it to you, so it’d suck if you lost your match.”

It was a disastrous start to their relationship, but the rockiness lead into smooth sailing. They went on dates after that. Just as friends at first—but then it got a little more serious, and he suddenly felt that he liked something more than he liked volleyball, even. He’d never felt this way about a person before. When he’d seen her texting that Mizushita guy, it’d felt like his whole world hand ended before it even begun. All these feelings strained him, but she knew that, and better yet—she understood with compassion and sympathy. For that, he liked her even more. She was one of the few people he could stand to tolerate, and even go so far as to respect. Dare he say… he loved her?

(No, he didn’t dare say it out loud, but she was a smart girl and could probably figure it out herself.)

“As long as you’re watching, I’ll be fine,” he muttered under his breath, shyly, staring at the ground. She laughed, the sound uplifting and clear. He felt it before he saw it—her fingertips resting on his chin, ticklish. She lifted up his head with gentle force. He stared down at her as she cradled his jaw in her small, warm hands.

“Can I kiss you?” she asked, so casually it was almost unfair. She always asked for permission to kiss or touch him, knowing how he was. But to her, he had never wanted to, and probably was entirely incapable of saying ‘no’. She kissed him through the mask—though obviously, it was awkward, and they ended up headbutting instead. Reluctantly, he hooked a finger around a loop and lowered it. He felt like he had to contort his entire body to reach her, but the way her gentle lips pressed against him, shooting all sorts of warmth and joy through his body?

Worth every germ.


	4. [ KENJIROU SHIRABU — Jealousy's a Pissy Setter ]

“You really don’t take it well when things don’t go your way, huh, Kenjirou?”

“Shut up!” the light-haired setter snapped reflexively before realizing who was speaking to him. He winced and bowed sharply at Tendou, his upperclassman. It didn’t look like the red-head had taken any offence—in fact, he seemed even more interested, his head tilting in a strange way.

“What’s on your mind, Kenji-kun?” the intuitive senior asked, his voice practically dripping with ulterior motive as he leant closer to get a better look at his junior’s expression. Shirabu turned away to hide his face, already embarrassed enough as is for telling off an upperclassman.

“I-it’s nothing. Sorry.”

“Nah, it seems like something!” Semi joined in suddenly, clapping Shirabu on the back so hard he was blown forwards three steps. Shirabu staggered back into balance, glaring back silently as Semi continued loudly. “What’s wrong? Our poor genius is having an off day?”

“Everybody’s allowed to have an off day,” Ohira interjected, his voice stern. Shirabu groaned internally. Great. So the whole starting line-up was throwing a pity party just for him? Thanks, much. It would only get worse if—

“What’s the hold up?”

Everybody cringed. Ushijima’s voice echoed out over everybody’s heads, fermenting a further state of heavy awkwardness. People turned to Shirabu expectantly to explain the situation. Biting the bullet, he nodded his head stiffly at the waiting Captain.

“Nothing, Ushijima-san. We’ll get back to practice right away.” 

“Your sets have been low,” he barrelled on, ignoring Shirabu completely. Why ask if he wasn’t going to bother listening? Ushijima looked back over to Goshiki, who had been the only one scared enough of Shirabu to keep his distance. Damn it—don’t bring the kid into this, too. Please. One favour, Ushijima.

“Do you agree, Goshiki?”

Of course.

“I. Well.” He fiddled with his fingers awkwardly, shooting the setter a panicked look. “I can still hit them, so…” 

“Go on. Be honest. We’re all friends here!” Semi egged viciously, grinning. Shirabu didn’t have the heart to look and closed his eyes.

“They are… a little off today…”

“Perhaps you should rest for a bit,” Ushijima recommended, looking down at his lowerclassman. People made faces and looked away in sympathy. It wasn’t out of anything but pure, baseless observation—he was sucking, so he oughta go ride pine until he was good enough to be able to come back. Biting down on his lip, Shirabu nodded obediently and turned tail.

“He doesn’t talk much,” Tendou mused, rubbing his chin with skeletal fingers as they watched Shirabu stalk out the doors. “I wonder what’s really going on with him.”

“Maybe it’s girl problems,” Goshiki added, having been fairly quiet until now. Everybody turned to look at their youngest member, startled by the contribution. Even Ushijima, who cared little about high school affairs, raised an eyebrow. Poor Goshiki jumped, taken off guard by the sudden attention.

“I-I mean… you guys all know he has a girlfriend, right?”

“What?!” Semi practically shrieked. “ _His_ tight ass?”

“I have many friends that are females. What’s the issue?” Ushijima turned to Tendou cluelessly, who snickered and waved off his friend. 

“Oh, the woes of youth…”

Out of the gym, Shirabu made a beeline to the lockers and dug out his phone. He clicked the power button and—no notifications. Seriously? Damn it! He practically hurled his phone back into his bag and sat heavily, rubbing his sore temples between stiff fingers. He didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t this… even though this was to be expected.

When he returned to the gym, engine keyed with irritation, he stalled when he saw that his seat had been replaced by Tendou. He perked up when he saw Shirabu stand in the doorway awkwardly and patted the spot next to him.

“Why are you on the bench?” Shirabu asked curiously, taking his seat. The matches were still ongoing, a familiar cacophony of squeaky shoes deafening the echo-prone gym. 

“I told a little white lie about jamming something. It’s a senpai’s duty to help out their kouhais, you know?”

“Really, I’m fine,” Shirabu said, though he could feel the grimace melting into his words, and not even Goshiki would’ve taken that seriously. He shot Tendou a pointed look. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to skip out on practice?”

“Of course not! It’s all for your support. So?” He put his head into his hands, resting the elbows on his knees. “What is it? I won’t tell; I promise.”

Shirabu doubted the integrity of that so-called promise, but it might not hurt to unload. He’d kept this to himself ever since it started, and it hadn’t been easy shouldering that with the burdens of practice and school, too. Besides, Tendou was a pest, and feeding him what he wanted might get him of his back for a while.

“Is it _jealousy_?” he continued in Shirabu’s silence. He straightened smugly, apparently noticing something in Shirabu’s countenance. “Go on, tell me I’m right.”

“I—I suppose you could say that…””

“Knew it!” he howled, practically bringing everybody’s attention. Shirabu ducked the best he could on an open bench, scowling.

“Quiet, Tendou-san!”

“So, who is it?” Tendou continued without mercy, full-force. “Who do we senpai get to hunt down and grill for you?”

“It’s not a person. And please don’t do that,” Shirabu sighed exasperatedly. He’d never get a handle on this guy. “It’s a thing, I guess.”

“Oh? Pray tell.”

“My girlfriend… she brought up the idea of taking a break for exam week. To focus.”

“Ah, I forgot juniors write their exams around this time… I remember those days.” He closed his eyes as if in deep thought despite only being older by a year. Then he turned his head, apparently paying close attention. “So? Did you take up your girlfriend’s offer?”

“Yes,” he muttered bitterly. Tendou made a face, pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes.

“By the sounds of it, you didn’t like that decision very much, Kenji-kun.”

“I mean. Of course school’s important.” He picked at a layer of tape on his index finger distractedly. “But so am I. Aren’t I?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

“I just thought that… I mean, complete radio silence isn’t the best option, is it? We can still talk to each other. But what am I supposed to say that doesn’t make me sound needy?”

He didn’t realize he was unloading so rapid fire until Tendou started laughing at him, interrupting him mid-sentence. Shirabu held his tongue in cheek, face red.

“What?!” he asked, trying not to snap but snapping regardless.

“You’re more sensitive than you let on, aren’t you? How amusing… so.” Tendou clapped both of his hands together, making Shirabu jump with the loudness. “You mean to say, darling kouhai—you’re jealous that, your… eh…?”

“[Name],” he mumbled indignantly.

“You’re jealous of this precious [Name]-chan and her devotion to schoolwork? Yes?”

“Yeah, I guess so…” Saying it out loud made it sound even lamer than he knew it was in his head. 

“You, the same Kenji-kun who tried to play a practice match while simultaneously reading his notes?”

“I—” He flushed hotly at the memory. “That exam in first year was really important to me!”

“The same Kenji-kun who, er, _berates_ our poor Tsu-chan for getting in on a sports scholarship?”

“Well. I mean.” His face. Redder and redder. “I worked hard to get here, and he’s an airhead.”

“You’re quite dull for a guy who’s got good game sense,” Tendou mused, drumming his fingers on his chin. “She’s just the same as you are, then, isn’t she? You two sound like quite the pair. Perfect for Shiratorizawa.”

“Can you quit making fun of me, Tendou-san?”

“I’m not making fun of you! I’m trying to help you!” He sprung up to his feet and begun stretching, apparently satisfied with his fill of other people’s drama. “All I’m saying is… try looking at yourself from her perspective instead of just yours, you know?”

He stalked off, returning back to the court with double peace signs. Shirabu watched him go distantly. For such a strange guy, the Guess Monster really did have incredible outsider perspective. Hadn’t he blown her off before for practice before? For the very same studies? Stayed up too late cramming all-nighters and became too tired to properly pay attention to her?

Shit. He was in the wrong here, _again_. Time to go make it right.

\---

“[Name]-chan!”

“Wh—Kenjirou?”

She looked startled to see him stagger up to her, winded despite his heavy conditioning. It wasn’t his fault that she decided to be entirely across campus from him, requiring a very long run. She turned to him, waiting for him to catch his breath.

“I thought we said we weren’t going to see each other during exam week,” she continued, frowning slightly. He noticed the books hugged to her chest. “It’s a busy time.”

“I know,” he hacked out, straightening up determinedly. “I know that I hurt you now, so just… give me a listen, please.”

“What?” She looked surprised, eyes wide—but it wasn’t in the surprise that immediately led into _nah, you’re wrong!_ It was the kind of surprise liars get when they’re caught red-handed—droopy around the corners with shame and guilt. His heart ached at the sight of it. Dammit. He was the worst boyfriend ever, wasn’t he?

“I’m making you make time for me,” he declared. She blinked, leaning in closer as if she’d heard him wrong.

“ _What_?”

“I miss you too much,” he continued hastily, hoping that if he kept talking his embarrassment wouldn’t catch up to him. “So I already know that I’m being selfish in the way you were too good to be, but I need to have you around. I keep shutting down without you. So please… no more of this ‘break’ thing. I just want to be near you.”

“But… finals… and you have that match, don’t you?”

“Nothing is more important to me than you right now,” he replied quickly, without hesitation. “I promise I’ll help you study or stay out of your hair when you need me to. I just can’t stand the idea of us not talking to each other.”

“Jeez, Kenjirou. You really change when things don’t go your way.”

That sounded eerily familiar—his head jerked up and he saw [Name] laugh into her open palm, snickering away. He pouted, but it wasn’t like he could say anything considering that she had complete rights to make fun of him right now.

“Help me with some flash cards, then?” she asked, smiling cheekily at him. He relaxed, sighing. Good. Obligingly, he nodded, starting to walk with her at her pace.

“Sure.”

“Ah, and while you’re here?” She paused in her steps blinking up at him. “One more request. As payment for breaking our promise to not talk to each other.”

“Yes?” he asked wearily, expecting some ludicrous demand like a fancy cake or cold cash. She tapped her cheek. When he stared blankly, she let her gaze drift, her smile just barely lifting the corners of her lips.

“I missed you too, y’know. I thought this would be best, but it was really hard not to text you… I’m glad you came back.”

He bit down his expression and leant forwards obediently. [Name] moved her head right as his nose grazed her hair and he kissed her, the taste of her minty lip balm sharp against his own lips. He jumped back only to see her smile.

“Why did you—?!”

“Oh, Kenjirou. Too predictable by far.” She clicked her tongue, shaking her head with an amused grin.

“Do you take pleasure in tormenting me?”

“Maybe. What if I’d given you the cold shoulder for longer? How long would you have held out?”

“Shut up. You wouldn’t.” He grabbed her arm and slid his hand down the side, curling his fingers around hers. She stumbled in shock but snorted with laughter once she realized what he was doing. Petulantly, he leant in so she could see he was serious. “You aren’t allowed.”

“Only Kenjirou Shirabu-san would tell his girlfriend to ‘shut up’. Fine, fine. I hear you.” She squeezed his hand twice— _love you_ —and kept quiet for the rest of the walk to the library. Though, he had to admit that he’d broken his promise yet again—because the setter, the one who controls the flow of the game and touches the ball the most—could not keep his filthy hands off of her.


	5. [ SHINSUKE KITA — Jealousy's an Inferiority Complex ]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i saw his preview art and my whore status flooded over me kita i love you so much please just frown at me ple

“You don’t seem the jealous type, Shinsuke, but you’ve got a scary face.”

Kita glanced up, blinking himself out of a reverie he hadn’t realized he’d been floating in. Ojiro smiled back at him wryly, bouncing the volleyball they’d been rallying on the ground.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not blind. I can see the death stares you’re giving the twins.”

On instinct, Kita’s brown eyes darted back over to the infamous Miyas. Osamu was crouched on the ground while Atsumu leant on the wall. Both were grinning slyly in that fox-like way, double shadows imposed upon a much smaller [Surname] [Name]. He was too far to hear what they were talking about, but she was grinning in a genuine way that made his heart sink in his chest when he noticed it. Even though he couldn’t catch any words, her laugh was clear as bells, and it made his stomach turn when ‘Samu and ‘Tsumu simultaneously leant towards her.

“I just think that if you have feelings for somebody, you ought to tell them…” The hinting tone wasn’t lost on him and stirred up an irritation. 

“Be quiet, Aran.” He bumped the ball back with a scowl, but it hit his wrist rather than his forearm—a clumsy mistake—and veered right. With his broad reach, Aran set it back without problem, but Kita caught the ball and hugged it to his chest thoughtfully.

“Are you going to tell me I’m wrong?” His co-captain and close friend walked towards him, lowering his voice so that they weren’t broadcasting a conversation to the rest of the gym. Kita spun the ball in his hands agitatedly.

“…she’s a second year. It isn’t right.”

“What do you mean it’s not ‘right’?” Aran scoffed in disbelief. “She’s your underclassman by one year. That’s not a big deal.”

“I’m graduating. What’s the point of starting a relationship now? Besides, I doubt she’d like somebody as plain as me.” He jerked his head in the vague direction of both Miyas without looking. “She seems close to them. I figure she’d prefer someone in her class rather than me.”

“You’re actually kind of a sorry guy sometimes, aren’t you?” Aran commented dryly. “Figures. Nobody’s perfect.”

“What?” 

Aran’s eyes were full of humour when Kita looked back up to them. He crossed his arms over his broad chest, sighing loudly.

“For a guy who prides himself on levelheadedness, you make pretty crappy decisions. What’s wrong with giving things a shot? Isn’t that better than moping around and cursing out our juniors?”

“You wouldn’t get it,” Kita mumbled resentfully. He already knew full well it wasn’t like him to gripe about unpreventable things, but [Name] had disturbed the balance like a bomb in still water. She was charming, cute, and delicate—but also, outrageously funny—she was interesting and all the things he was not. How could he not nurture a crush on the sweet junior manager? As the captain of the team, he had ample opportunity to talk to her, but he always kept his distance. He already knew it was cowardice, but self-awareness doesn’t immediately breed results. The twins were the complete opposite, clinging to their fellow second year, showing off to her and always whipping up strong rapport. Kita could never win.

“Hey, twins!”

Startled, Kita whipped his head to Aran, who was waving down the Miyas. They stared back at him as Aran beckoned them over. 

“C’mere for a sec. Shinsuke wants to talk to you.”

“Ugh, what for?”

“Didn’t do nothin’ wrong, Cap.”

“What are you _doing_?!” Kita hissed, losing his composure. Aran ignored him, swatting Kita off his arm. 

“Putting the wheels in motion. Be a man, won’t you?”

“What’s up?” Atsumu spoke, raising an eyebrow as he looked between Aran and Kita. Osamu, more sensitive to animosity, kept quiet and pursed his lips.

“Uh.” Kita was at a loss of words. After all, what did Aran want him to say? _‘Hey guys, just wondering—do you guys have a crush on the same girl I have a crush on?’_. His floundering was clearly uncharacteristic enough to be creepy as Atsumu leant back with an odd expression.

“You okay, Kita?”

“Fine. It’s nothing. Carry on.”

“… ‘kay, if you say so.” 

They glanced at each other, probably sharing thoughts through their weird twin telepathy, and wandered away. Kita let out a short, anxious breath.

“Hey, Kita-senpai?”

Oh, damn. Really? Now? He froze up, but there was no mistaking it—[Name] had walked up behind him. He turned to face her, noticing her fingers tucked into the sleeves of her black Inarizaki jacket. He swallowed thickly, struggling to pull himself together.

“Yes?”

“Are they in trouble because they were talkin’ to me?” she asked, looking guilty. “Don’t yell at ‘em or anything for slacking off.”

“Oh, no… it was nothing. Aran was just being weird.”

“Oh. Cool. That’s good.” She bounced on her heels, her hair swaying with the motion. He nodded stiffly. There wasn’t much else to say besides that, but for some reason, she wasn’t leaving. As a human, and as a red-blooded man, he just couldn’t help the twinge of annoyance that the only reason she’d come here to talk to him was to ask after the boys. 

“Uh, is it okay if I just ask you one more question?” she blurted out all of the sudden, looking as if she’d been waiting to work up the nerve. Her face was noticeably more flushed than it’d been a second ago. Confused, he nodded in encouragement.

“Wh…” She gulped. “What’s your favourite food?”

It was such an odd, out-of-the-blue question that for a good long while he stared and completely forgot to answer. She flinched in his silence.

“Sorry. I know that’s a weird question, but—”

“No, it’s fine,” he interjected hastily. “It’s, um. Tofu hamburgers.”

“Oh. Interesting.” He noticed her shoulders slump with what looked like relief. “I was just asking ‘cause, uh, Yuuko-senpai mentioned it’d be good for me to spend some time with you. T-to get pointers on how to lead the team better! You know? So I figured we could go out to eat after practice some time—well, only if you want. D… does that make any sense…?”

His heart was choking him out so badly he couldn’t even reply to ease her rambling. “Are you asking me out?” he asked, almost flatly, so surprised that he could barely manage one emotion at a time.

“F-for training purposes!” she replied sharply, cheeks hot. “It’s okay if you don’t want to go, I just thought—”

“Uh, no. That sounds great, [Surname]. I’d be happy to.”

Thank God. He finally managed a decent, falsely confident sounding statement for once. [Name] blinked, looking shocked that he agreed, before nodding vigorously.

“That’s. Great! Thanks, Kita-senpai. Um, you just let me know when you’re free…?”

He nodded, feeling his thoughts fog over uselessly. “Sure.”

“Cool, cool… uh, talk to you later, then.”

Another nod. She nodded back, her smile wide. She turned around to go back to her spot on the bench before he wrangled out a strange noise in his throat. She looked back, cocking her head. No going back now.

“You can just call me Kita, by the way. Or Shinsuke. That’s fine.”

“Oh, really? Well… you can call me [Name].” She smiled shyly. He tried to control the grin spreading across his lips.

“Talk to you later, [Name]-chan.”

Her smile—if it was even possible—grew even brighter. She nodded—to herself, it seemed like—spinning dutifully on her heel and walking off. He watched her go, trying to swallow the palpitations in his chest.

“Knew it.”

Once again, he nearly jumped, startled by the voices behind him. Turning back around, he noticed Aran standing with Osamu on his left and Atsumu on his right. Atsumu was scowling, while Aran and Osamu exchanged a casual high five.

“Knew what?” Kita asked, having a feeling that he didn’t actually want to know.

“You had a crush on [Name],” Osamu continued slyly with his shit-eating grin. “Aran told us to look flirty with her. Guess we were right.”

“I still dunno how you guys can read him,” Atsumu whined. “He’s got the same face no matter what.”

“You need to get better acquainted with your captain,” Aran chided. Kita watched them all talk indistinctly.

“Are you saying that you set this up?” he asked when it clicked, looking at Aran. He shrugged in response.

“You were taking forever, Shinsuke. We were doing you a favour.”

“The Cap bein’ jealous over a girl,” Atsumu scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m never gonna live it down.” 

“Be nice.”

“No way. This is friggin’ hilarious.”

It was a headache, yeah, but he also had a date lined up… so you know, there’s always the beauty in things when you look. Even if you have to look really, really hard.

(Being jealous of these two idiots was not one of his finer achievements, though. That’s for sure.)


	6. [ KOUSHI SUGAWARA — Jealousy's A Coffee Addiction ]

“Uh…”

Sugawara didn’t slow down his chug even when his colleague gave him a visibly concerned look in his peripheral. He didn’t even stop to breathe. It was only after he emptied his travel mug and sucked in a desperate gasp that he turned his attention over to Sanada Natsume, the school’s sixth grade homeroom teacher. She whistled lowly.

“Sugawara. That’s a lot of coffee, doncha’ think?”

“Hm,” he grunted absentmindedly in response, unscrewing the cap to top himself off. Sanada grabbed his hand in shock to stop him.

“I’m serious! I just watched you drink two whole things already! Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine,” he sighed, though he slackened and reluctantly hugged the silver mug under his arm. “I’m quitting smoking, so… yeah. Better this than cigarettes.”

“ _Caffeine_ doesn’t sound like the right thing to come off on. No offense.”

“None taken.” He carded a hand through his hair roughly. “It’s the only thing that takes the edge off of things though.”

“Your kids giving you a rough time?” she asked sympathetically.

“No, not really. It’s something else…” He trailed off awkwardly, not really wanting to disclose. Sanada, who was indeed quite gifted in the art of logic, narrowed her green eyes slightly. Sugawara could already see the gears turning in her head. 

“Hey, that ‘something’ else wouldn’t happen to be—?”

The door swung open mid-sentence. It was only to be expected as the final bell had tolled a while ago and teachers were gathering to finish up their work; still, he hadn’t expected _that_ something—or should he say, that some _one_ else to be the one waltzing in right this moment.

“—yeah, I _am_ struggling with quitting, but you know. A deal’s a deal!” 

He knew full well why he wasn’t a drama teacher, and Sanada’s disgusted, knowing expression wasn’t lost on him. Whatever; it was enough to shut her up and draw [Name]’s attention.

“Oh, Koushi. Natsume.” [Name] walked up to them, noticing them standing by the refreshers table after his little aside. She pulled her light cardigan up over her shoulders and his eyes tracked every move. “How did your guys’ day go?”

“Good,” Sugawara interjected before Sanada could even open her mouth. “Yours?”

“Not too bad for a Monday… but it’s good to hear you’re still cold turkey.” She smiled wryly, a warm glint sparkling in her eye as she prodded him in the chest. He nodded, pretending like her touch hadn’t just given him a defibrillator’s shock to the heart.

“All thanks to you.”

He could feel Sanada’s eyes burn into his back, the silent _so you aren’t going to mention the caffeine addiction?_ searing in between his shoulder blades. He ignored it.

“Hey; you’ve got a student named Soji-kun, don’t you?” [Name] brought up suddenly. His eyes flickered up in thought, but Soji’s face came to mind easily. Sugawara nodded at her.

“Yeah, why?”

“I think he’s got a crush on me.” She laughed, and for a moment that was awkwardly, dreadfully _long_ , he merely stared.

“Uh, really!?” he managed to stammer out when he realized he was being weirdly quiet. “What’s that about?”

“I helped peel one of his oranges in his bento at lunch time since I was supervising. Y’know what he said to me?”

“Lemme guess,” Sanada hummed thoughtfully, re-joining the conversation. “‘You’re pretty’?”

“‘Let’s get married some day!’,” she quoted, her eyes misting over fondly. Her grin stretched ear to ear. “He said he wanted to hurry up and be finished in Suga-sensei’s class so that he could be in my homeroom. Kids are so funny.”

“Not mine,” Sanada lamented. “They’ve hit brat stage. Puberty’s a curse.”

“At least they can wipe their noses at that age.” She turned back to him, who’d been mutedly standing off to the side. “Anyways. Drinks are still on tonight, yeah?”

“Mm,” he replied instinctively, clearing his throat and straightening up when he noticed her beaming up at him. “Same place.”

“Let me know when you’re ready. I don’t have much grading to do tonight so I’m good any time. Natsume, you in?”

“Busy tonight, but thanks. Next time.”

“See you tomorrow then.” With a perky step, she headed off towards her desk. Sanada leant back against the table, crossing her arms over her white shirt.

“Everybody already knows that you’re dating, Sugawara.”

“I—what?!”

His useless spluttering probably wasn’t helping his case much. Faculty weren’t supposed to get involved with each other, but one thing led to another, and… needless to say, it had to be kept a secret from the Dean. Sanada snickered.

“Relax, nobody’s gonna snitch on you guys. But I’ve never seen a grown man get so jealous over a kid.”

“I’m not jealous,” he retorted self-consciously. “Soji’s a loud guy that can get out of hand. I was worried he caused [Name] trouble.”

“Mm,” she mused, tapping a manicured finger to her lips. “Not worried he’s going to steal your woman? He beat you to the punch on popping the question, after all.”

“I am _not_ jealous of a second grader.”

“Mm…”

“Ugh, whatever. You’re just being crazy.” It was a weak come-back and he knew it, so he turned tail and marched back to his own desk to prevent further shame or dishonour. Really, he was just annoyed she had to go and point out the obvious. It wasn’t like he saw Soji as a _threat_ , but… his girlfriend looking so happy talking about somebody else besides him made his fingers itch. He had to do something about this before he hit up the corner store.

“[Name],” he whispered urgently as he crouched over her workspace. “I’m gonna make a stop before the izakaya, so don’t wait up for me. I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds good,” she replied distractedly, her pink pen making quick work of the papers stacked on her desk. He shrugged on his jacket and hurried out before he choked on the lungfuls of her dizzying perfume. Was he being ridiculous? Yes. Was Sanada going to laugh at him tomorrow? Most definitely. But he could take anything as long as it was for her.

“Oh, Sugawara…”

“Don’t,” he muttered, but Sanada had already sat on the corner of his desk. He couldn’t see her face, but he could already imagine that snide know-it-all grin.

“You’ve got a really good eye. I have to commend you for it.”

“It’s not anything serious!” he blurted out like a bubble had burst, no longer able to keep his mouth shut what with her mere _presence_. God, this woman was a Tsukki 2.0, riling you up for no redeemable reason. His face was already warm when he looked up to her, desperately trying to justify himself. “I-I just thought it’d be a nice gift. To a friend. Since she’s been working so hard… that’s all.”

“Wow,” Sanada returned dryly. “We’re friends, aren’t we? I don’t see any baller gifts from you.”

“Screw off.”

She rapped her knuckles on the surface beside his pen, an amused smile gracing her face while she stood up. She gestured vaguely at the cup of water on his desk. “Glad to see you’re off the coffee. Looks like you got all that angst out of your system.”

“Thanks,” he replied briskly, hoping that she’d leave so that he could quit being so humiliated for once. 

“I’m invited, aren’t I?”

“If I say yes, then will you please leave me alone?”

Although she was the type to tease, she wasn’t cruel, and gave him a squeeze on the shoulder before walking away. It was hard to focus after the brutal hazing. He couldn’t get any work done at this point, his mind racing with thoughts. So, when [Name] came up to his desk, he was already ready to leave despite the fact that he really shouldn’t be going home yet.

“You’ve been kinda quiet all day,” she noted, her small hand twisting in his as they walked out of the school together. “You okay?

“Have I?”

“I do love it, you know.” She stretched her left hand out, admiring the twinkling gem stones hugging her ring finger. Her hand slipped up his arm, curling around it, bringing her warm body close to his. “You just really surprised me, running into the bar like that in front of everybody.”

“What can I say? I’m a passionate guy.”

“Yeah, you’ve got that right.” She chuckled to herself as she slowed to a stop, pulling on his arm. When he looked down at her she stretched up onto tip-toes and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. His turn to be surprised. 

“Love you, Koushi.”

_Take that, Soji._

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: https://deltachye.tumblr.com/


End file.
